1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to present transport of fluids, in particular for body-fluid analysis purposes.
2. Discussion of the Background
Testing of blood, or other body fluids, for medical evaluation in diagnosis has traditionally been domain of central laboratories offering efficient, reliable and accurate testing of a high volume of fluid samples. Samples must be collected, transported to the laboratory, analyzed and the result has then to be communicated back. This often produces delays of several days between sample collection and communication of the test results.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,669 discloses a system with a disposable device and a hand-held reader, which can perform a variety of electrochemical measurements on blood or other fluids. In operation, a fluid sample is drawn into the disposable device through an orifice by capillary action. The orifice is sealed off and the disposable device is inserted into the reader. The reader which controls the test sequence and flow of fluid causes a calibrant pouch located inside the device to be pierced, releasing the calibrant fluid to flow across the sensor arrays to perform calibration. Next, an air bladder located in the device is depressed, forcing the sample across the sensors where measurements are performed and read by the reader which performs the calibrations. Once the measurements are made, the device can be withdrawn from the reader and discarded. While in the first step the fluid sample has to be manually inserted into the disposable device, the reader further controls displacing the calibrant fluid as well as the fluid sample within the disposable device.
A further system, the IRMA SL Blood Analysis System, introduced by Agilent Technologies, also applies a disposable cartridge for analyzing body fluids in conjunction with a portable reading and evaluation unit. After inserting the cartridge into the reader, a calibration process of the sensor element within the cartridge by means of a calibration gel already situated on the sensor elements is initiated. When the calibration process has been finalized, the blood or other fluid sample has to be manually inserted into the cartridge during a defined time frame by means of a capillary-syringe collection device.